Microsoft planning 3D virtual reality helmet?

A newly discovered patent shows that Microsoft is considering a new range of 3D virtual reality helmets, not just for the Xbox but also for smartphones.

Next generation gaming, ’90s style

The new patent shows two different kinds of headset, with the first being a simple pair of 3D glasses that are apparently intended for smartphone (Windows Phone 7, natch) and mobile devices.The wackier looking helmet is apparently for the Xbox, although it’s not clear whether it’d be the current Xbox 360 or Microsoft’s next generation machine.The patents were uncovered by website Patent Bolt and contain enough technobabble that they don’t just seem to have been an idle thought or patent block to stop rivals. The patents were filled in the autumn of 2010, but so far Microsoft has never mentioned them, or even hinted at them, in public.

According to the patents the headsets would seem to be 21 inch displays from the wearer’s perspective, working in full widescreen 3D and seeming to be about an arm’s length away.Apart from 3D there’s also talk of transparent displays to allow for AR (augmented reality) projections onto real-world objects. What exactly all this would be used for isn’t really mentioned, but the applications for gaming are obvious.Of course 3D goggles and virtual reality helmets aren’t a new idea, in fact they seems almost endearingly old fashioned in their view of the future. Especially as the reasons they haven’t become popular are so obvious and unchanging: they’re very expensive and you look like an idiot wearing them.There’s always the hope that someone will solve the expense problem at least, but despite devices like Sony’s HMZ-T1 headset getting plenty of positive press its £800 price tag hasn’t exactly made it ubiquitous.